"The oil price of $25 put forward by the Emirates won’t last
for long. The deeper we fall today, the faster the rebound will
be," said Gref, adding that it’s impossible to keep the
price in the range of $25-35 a barrel at the current output
level.

Gref believes the current oil prices will inevitably affect the
Russian economy.

"We will see a reduction in costs," he said, adding that
Russia won’t be able to avoid a major bank crisis should oil
prices stay at the level of $45-50 a barrel.

Deputy Minister of Economic Development Aleksey Vedev agreed with
the assumptions, saying the estimates of an oil price between $60
and $80 a barrel are “the most reliable.”

However, Vedev said that the Ministry will review the forecast no
earlier than April.

Such prices may lead to structural changes in the economy, and
"it’s not necessary that the GDP will continue falling, the
structure of the manufacturing industry may change," he said
responding to a question about what would a drop in GDP be at a
price of $40 a barrel.

The official forecast by the Ministry of Economic Development
(from the beginning of December) on the reduction of GDP for 2015
is 0.8 percent at a price of $80 per barrel. In late December,
Minister of Economic Development Aleksey Ulyukayev said a price
of $60 a barrel could lead to a 3 percent drop in GDP in 2015.

He expects oil prices to rise in the near future. The recovery of
oil will be followed by the strengthening of the ruble, he said
to Rossiya 24. "The coming weeks should show how correct this
estimation is," he added.